Politics

How to keep politics sane in 2021 – Washington Post

Published

4 years ago

December 17, 2020

2020 must surely be in the running for the top five worst years in U.S. history, along with 1861, 1929 and 1968. Impeachment, pandemic, recession, nonstop assaults on democracy and truth, and the loss of heroic Americans such as John Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were all amplified by a 24/7 news cycle and social media. The year tested our collective mental health, patience, stamina and capacity for grief. The country is entitled to a measure of post-traumatic stress, but we can begin to put 2020 in perspective, if not behind us, for five reasons.

First, no more Donald Trump. Unless referring to a legal indictment or the “previous administration,” I will take the vow of silence on the former president and urge you to avert your gaze. No more obsession with Trump tweets or threats or rallies or announcements. It is not news, and covering such behavior would only distract from real news, of which there will be plenty.

Second, we have learned a certain segment of the electorate will buy into anything — or at least, that’s what these voters tell us. The temptation to “understand” people who are divorced from reality and who reject basic premises of democracy (e.g., truth, the sanctity of elections) should be quashed. What is critical is to distinguish those voters who are susceptible to reason and persuasion. We are “fortunate” in a peculiar way insofar as we can readily determine who is in the unreachable group and who is in the persuadable group: Ask them who won the presidential election.

Third, the public’s focus will be able to stray beyond the federal government and national politics. There are governors — both Democrat and Republican (e.g., Mike DeWine of Ohio, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Larry Hogan of Maryland, Gary R. Herbert of Utah) — who have acquitted themselves well during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent recession. State legislatures generally are less partisan and more productive than Congress. And a slew of competent and courageous mayors have stepped into the leadership void following the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent nationwide protests. If we want to restore faith in government and to improve government services, more attention should be paid to politics and governance outside Washington. As a corollary, the incoming Biden administration might consider whether federalism provides an avenue around Republican obstructionism. The “laboratories of democracy” may never be more essential to our recovery.

Fourth, despite conventional wisdom that the “center has disappeared,” the centrist, bipartisan group of lawmakers who offered up a compromise spending plan provides a model for other initiatives. Certainly, there can be agreement with a Democratic president on reforms that recalibrate power between the executive and legislative branches. Republicans and Democrats likely can be persuaded to develop a reform package that includes excising “emergency” statutes, putting a sunset clause on memorandums authorizing use of force, enforcement and penalties for Hatch Act violations, transparency in presidential pardons, expedited enforcement of congressional subpoenas and rigorous rules to eliminate conflicts of interest and nepotism.

Finally, every effort should be made to repair the Voting Rights Act and eliminate barriers to voting. Expectations for such legislation should be tempered, given Republican senators’ assiduous objections to the enfranchisement of new voters. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) declared on Thursday, “I’m very, very concerned that if you solicit votes from typically nonvoters, that you will affect and change the outcome.” (At least he and his fellow Republicans are open about denying new voters — primarily nonwhite — the right to vote.) But in any case, voting-rights activist Stacey Abrams has showed in Georgia that despite efforts to skew the electorate, a concentrated voter outreach program that is well-funded can produce results over time. Aside from decrying Republicans’ aversion to democracy, Democrats should devote themselves to replicating Abrams’s success in other states. Perhaps Paul’s fear of Democratic control can become a reality.

Let’s move on from Trump-induced outrage and angst. Ignore Trump, herald federalism, encourage bipartisan reform and focus on voter outreach and engagement. Those will help make our politics more functional while improving our collective mental health.

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Politics

RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. ‘It’s possible,’ Trump says

Published

15 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”

The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.

Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.

In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.

“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.

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Politics

Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

Published

15 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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Politics

America’s Election: What it Means to Canadians

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2024

Steven Kaszab

Americans and Canadians are cousins that is true. Allies today but long ago people were at loggerheads mostly because of the British Empire and American ambitions.

Canadians appreciate our cousins down south enough to visit them many millions of times over the year. America is Canada’s largest and most important trading partner. As a manufacturer, I can attest to this personally. My American clients have allowed our firm to grow and prosper over the past few decades. There is a problem we have been seeing, a problem where nationalism, both political and economic has been creating a roadblock to our trade relationship.

Both Democrats and Republicans have shown a willingness to play the “buy only American Made product” card, a sounding board for all things isolationist, nationalistic and small-mindedness. We all live on this small planet, and purchase items made from all over the world. Preferences as to what to buy and where it is made are personal choices, never should they become a platform of national pride and thuggery. This has brought fear into the hearts of many Canadians who manufacture for and service the American Economy in some way. This fear will be apparent when the election is over next week.

Canadians are not enemies of America, but allies and friends with a long tradition of supporting our cousins back when bad sh*t happens. We have had enough of the American claim that they want free trade, only to realize that they do so long as it is to their benefit. Tariffs, and undue regulations applied to exporters into America are applied, yet American industry complains when other nations do the very same to them. Seriously! Democrats have said they would place a preference upon doing business with American firms before foreign ones, and Republicans wish to tariff many foreign nations into oblivion. Rhetoric perhaps, but we need to take these threats seriously. As to you the repercussions that will come should America close its doors to us.

Tit for tat neighbors. Tariff for tariff, true selfish competition with no fear of the American Giant. Do you want to build homes in America? Over 33% of all wood comes from Canada. Tit for tat. Canada’s mineral wealth can be sold to others and place preference upon the highest bidder always. You know who will win there don’t you America, the deep-pocketed Chinese.

Reshaping our alliances with others. If America responds as has been threatened, Canadians will find ways to entertain themselves elsewhere. Imagine no Canadian dollars flowing into the Northern States, Florida or California? The Big Apple without its friendly Maple Syrup dip. Canadians will realize just how significant their spending is to America and use it to our benefit, not theirs.

Clearly we will know if you prefer Canadian friendship to Donald Trumps Bravado.

China, Saudi Arabia & Russia are not your friends in America. Canada, Japan, Taiwan the EU and many other nations most definitely are. Stop playing politics, and carry out business in an unethical fashion. Treat allies as they should be treated.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca